Of Gods and Goddesses: Book 3 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  He was hidden deep beneath Pikes Peak, outside of Colorado Springs. Elda and her men managed to make it far into the mountain before they had to kill any guards. Before entering the room she paused to listen to the president and his top advisors.

  “We can’t bomb these prisons where people are being held. We would only kill a couple of their infantry and numerous innocent civilians would die. Please Mr. President, it’s not worth the large amount of lives lost.”

  “Find out where these creatures’ leader is located and I will send a nuclear missile right up his ass,” the president replied.

  “Well done,” Elda said to her spy from outside the presidents meeting room. “They don’t even know of the security breach.” With a mischievous smile she added, “Let’s have some fun.”

  Elda barged into the room with her entourage. “You’re in luck Mr. President, as the one you seek stands before you. I do hope you have one of those missiles on you now, as that is the only thing that could possibly save you.”

  “Who in the hell are you and how did you get in here?” The president stood and leaned on the table in front of him, supporting himself with his fists.

  “I already told you who I am. I’m the leader of the creatures you were just discussing.”

  “A woman! Impossible. A woman could never cause this much damage. Get her out of here!” the president yelled.

  “You’re such a moron. How did you ever get elected?” Elda appeared in front of the president and sank her fangs into his neck. Her followers did the same to the others in the room.

  Once the humans were dead, Elda critically eyed her surroundings. “This place is quite nice. It will make a suitable headquarters. Secure it.”

  A handful of her supporters filed out of the main room.

  “Now let’s check in with my faithful followers to see how they are faring at eliminating the other human leaders of the world.”

  Chapter 39 South America 2021 A.D

  Bray wound her way through the streets of Natal. She was making sure no one had followed her. Little did she know that this would not stop a vampire from tracking a human. Once back in their most recent hiding place, she set the backpack down in front of a little girl.

  “I got it. This is enough insulin to last you awhile,” Bray announced.

  “You did it! Thank you Bray!” the small girl chimed.

  Bray ruffled the thick brown hair on her head. “You’re welcome.”

  “You look like crap. What happened to you?” Bray’s cousin Jack asked.

  “I was caught.”

  Jack sat up from the sofa where he had been lounging. “Whoa! By one of them? How did you get away?”

  “They … let me go.”

  “I told you not to go alone but you just had to go and sneak off,” Jack said.

  “Like there was anything you could have done. You would have been caught too.”

  “So what happened?”

  “You’re not going to believe this ...

  That evening Bray stared at the scribbled map on the piece of prescription paper.

  “Forget it Bray. We can’t trust them,” Ramon said.

  “But they let me go.”

  “It’s a trap.”

  “A trap? How?”

  “So you would lead the vampires right to us,” Ramon said.

  Bray shook her head. “You’re wrong. No one followed me and you didn’t see him — his eyes.”

  “I know — he was really hot. We’re not going to trust your judgment, Bray. I’ve been told that your taste in men is terrible.”

  “It’s not that. He really didn’t want to hurt me. He wants to help.”

  “Why would one of those monsters help us?” Ramon asked.

  “I don’t know.” Bray shook her head in dismay.

  “You see, that’s why we’re not going and that is final.”

  Bray disliked Ramon but when you’re one of only a dozen or so people left in an entire city you don’t get to choose whom you hang out with. She was stuck with him.

  That night Bray lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She could not get those haunting grey eyes out of her head. Or were they blue? They were kind and intelligent and ... Ramon is right, he is the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. She shook her head. That’s not it — okay, that’s not ALL of it. He really wants to help and he can help us. He had been sincere, she saw it in his eyes. By morning her mind was made up.

  “I’m following the map. I’m going to find him.”

  “Well you’re going alone,” Ramon snapped.

  “I know. I also know that he’s our only hope. There’s a chance that I’m wrong and that’s why I’m going alone. I won’t put any of you in danger. If they’re willing to help then I will come back for you.”

  “That’s if you can get through the jungle on your own and find that vaguely marked place on that tiny piece of paper. Don’t you know that the Amazon is humongous?” Ramon scoffed.

  Bray grit her teeth. She would not be deterred by Ramon’s constant negativity. “I only have to get close. He’ll find me.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Jack said.

  Bray smiled. Her cousin would not let her down. She was relieved that she didn’t have to trek for miles on end through the jungle alone.

  They packed at once. Jack headed for the Camaro.

  “What’re you doing? The Land Rover will get us farther.”

  “But the Camaro will get us there faster.” Jack smiled.

  This was one advantage of being in an abandoned city, they had their choice of vehicles.

  “I know you love the Camaro but we have to be practical. We can pack a lot more supplies into the Land Rover and get much closer to our destination.”

  Jack frowned. He laid his head and arm across the top of the bright red sports car, “Sorry Baby but I have to leave you for another. I hope you understand. You’re my number one girl, though. I’ll come back for you.”

  “Just help me pack the damn Land Rover.” Bray was losing her patience. Once they tied down sleeping bags and as much fuel, water, food, bug repellent, flashlights, batteries; anything they could find or thought might come in handy, Bray hit the gas and the Land Rover sped west out of Natal.

  Jack yelled out the passenger window, “Wait for me!” The Camaro did not reply.

  “Will you knock it off! This is serious.”

  “One thing my father always said was, ‘If you lose your sense of humor then you’ve lost everything.’”

  Bray smiled at her cousin. “He’s a smart man.”

  Jack peered out the window with a longing gaze. “It was an awesome car though.”

  Bray laughed. “Give it up, already.”

  That night when they lay on their sleeping bags looking up at the stars through the trees, Bray asked, “Do you think our family is alive?”

  “You know what, I do. I think they were locked up.”

  “Then we have to save them.”

  “Save them? I don’t even know how we’ll find them.”

  “We have to try.”

  Jack sighed. “I know.”

  Chapter 40 South America 2021 A.D

  Almost a week had passed. Bray and Jack traveled for two days in the Land Rover. Then the roads ran out and they hiked for three more days. On the sixth morning Jack was ready to head back.

  “Our food is running low. We may be able to make it back to the city in time if we turn around now.”

  “I don’t know if the blisters on my feet will let me walk all the way back.” Bray sat with her back against a tree and her head down.

  “Bray!” Jack’s voice was full of panic.

  She slowly raised her head. Black boots stood directly in front of her. She looked up to find a man in green army fatigues and a tight green t-shirt.

  He smiled down at Bray. “You changed your mind.” He held out his hand to help her up.

  Bray reluctantly took it and he effortlessly pulled her to her feet.

  “My name is Elij
ah.”

  She could only stare at his unforgettable eyes. Grey, no blue, no grey. She tried to define them. They had never left her dreams since she first saw him. She was beginning to think she had only imagined seeing him in the hospital.

  “Wow. I’ve never known anyone to leave my cousin speechless. I’m Jack and this is Bray.”

  Elijah bowed his head respectfully. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Elijah shook Jack’s hand.

  “Whoa! You’re freezing.”

  “Yes, well, all is right then, as that is natural for us.”

  “You mean vampires?” Jack asked.

  Elijah nodded. “We’re a good day’s hike from the tunnels on foot. So we had better get moving, unless of course, you want to fly.”

  “No way! You can fly?” Jack said.

  Riddick stepped out of the trees. Jack panicked and stumbled backwards falling to the ground. “He’s huge and…”

  “All around terrifying, yes, we know.” Teller suddenly appeared, lifting Jack back to his feet.

  Bray hid behind Elijah.

  Jack looked between Teller and Riddick. “Are you two brothers … or something?”

  “Absolutely not!” Riddick said.

  “No relation whatsoever,” Teller added.

  “There will be time for all your questions while we head to the tunnels.”

  “Are we truly going to spend the entire day walking the jungle at a snail’s pace when we could simply carry them?” Teller asked.

  “I didn’t want to scare them. Not until they fully understand that they can trust us.” Elijah said.

  “I’m not afraid. I want to fly!” Jack’s large brown eyes danced with excitement.

  “Flying is not the scariest part.” Elijah nodded to Riddick who leapt with ease into the air and transformed. Riddick’s iridescent batwings spread out so far on either side that there was hardly room for them in the overgrown forest. His skin was grey and cracked — like stone and the head of the monster had glowing yellow eyes and long sharp teeth.

  “Holy shit!” Jack tried to run but slipped again on the wet forest floor.

  Bray made a run for it as well. Elijah grabbed her and swung her onto his back. He took flight before Bray even knew what was happening.

  By the time she gathered her wits she was high above the treetops. She started to push herself away from the monster underneath her, until she realized she would fall to her death. She clung tightly to Elijah and closed her eyes. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening! Her concern for her cousin caused her to force her eyes open. She had to know if he was okay.

  He too was on the back of a large bat-like, stone creature-thingy. These were the only words that came to her mind to describe them. Jack’s mouth hung open in awe.

  When he noticed Bray staring at him he yelled, “Bray, you’ve got to look around. This is the coolest thing ever!”

  How can he be so sure that this is all okay? Bray thought. She took a deep breath. Well there was nothing she could do about her situation anyway. Even if they did not die by falling out of the sky; even if they were being taken to a giant cauldron to be cooked and eaten, there was nothing she could do about that now. She slowly ventured to look around. It was beautiful. Rolling green hills as far as she could see, hilltops, rivers ... and then there was the mother of all rivers, which was so wide in places that it looked more like a lake. “Wow,” Bray breathed.

  She glanced at Jack. He was sitting up straight on the back of the creature with his arms toward the sky. “Try it, Bray. It’s like I’m flying all on my own.”

  “Go for it,” came from the creature she was on. “I’ll catch you if you fall.”

  She slowly sat up and even more slowly raised her arms. Eventually she laughed at the thrill.

  “Woo Hoo!” Jack yelled.

  Riddick spiraled through the air, causing Jack to fall off. Jack screamed as he sped toward the ground.

  “No!” Bray yelled, wrapping her arms around Elijah again.

  “He’ll be fine,” the creature beneath her said.

  Jack was about fifteen feet from the ground when Riddick swooped him up in his arms and they landed safely on the forest floor.

  Jack’s knees buckled when Riddick set him down.

  “I’ve always wanted to do that,” Riddick said. “You were having entirely too much fun. I couldn’t resist giving you a scare.”

  Bray slid off Elijah’s back as they landed. She ran to Jack. “Are you okay?”

  Jack finally caught his breath. “That was … awesome! Can we do it again?”

  Bray smacked Jack’s shoulder. “You’re such an adrenaline junkie. You scared me!”

  “You were scared? I was terrified! Seriously, that was better than racing the Camaro through the empty streets.”

  “This way.” Elijah led them out of the trees into a clearing. “Welcome to the tunnels.”

  Naked women cooked fish over open flames. A naked man was returning from a hunt with his furry kill fastened over his shoulder.

  “Don’t they have clothes in the jungle?” Jack said.

  Bray’s mouth fell open. “Is that a … monkey?”

  “What do they do with those?” Jack asked.

  “Eat them,” Elijah replied.

  “That’s disgusting.” Jack wrinkled his nose.

  “Ah, poor cute little monkeys,” Bray said.

  “You never know. You might like it. You two are obviously American — North American, so what are you doing in Brazil?”

  “Our parents are from Brazil and we visit often. Our grandfather, Jack’s father’s father and my mother’s father, passed away. We had to return for the service,” Bray answered.

  “How did you escape when the vampires attacked Natal?” Riddick asked.

  “Well, the morning of the attacks, Jack and I decided to get away from our crazy family and go for a hike. We got lost and that was probably what saved us. We were far away on a mountainside. By the time we found our way back the next morning, the city was empty.”

  “You see? Once you get her talking she doesn’t shut up,” Jack said.

  Ignoring her cousin, Bray looked at Elijah with large pleading brown eyes. “Do you think you can help us find our parents?”

  Elijah had been thinking that that was the next step. Now that they had a secure base, they could think about trying to free humans from Elda’s prisons. “There’s a possibility that we could find your family. Of course, there is no guarantee that they are alive.”

  “Did you hear that, Jack? He’ll help us. I knew we needed to find him.” When Jack did not answer she turned to find him wide-eyed and pale-faced. “What …” she followed his stunned gaze and screamed.

  Elijah drew his sword and turned to see what had startled Bray.

  “There’s a … a baby in the fire.” Jack somehow managed to spit the words out.

  Elijah put his sword away. “That’s a monkey, or it was, and a full grown one at that. Now let me fetch Mari and Sonia. They’re our official welcoming committee.”

  “Or unwelcoming committee, is more like it,” Riddick added as they left Bray and Jack.

  Bray made a gaging sound, as she turned away from the fire. She tried to get the tiny charred figure out of her head. Much to her dismay, Elijah was gone and she was face to face with an attractive dark-haired woman. She stood tall and regal, even though she was in the middle of the jungle and her clothes were stained.

  “I heard the terrified scream of a damsel and knew at once that we had newcomers. My name is Mari and this is Sonia.” Mari gestured to the young girl at her side.

  Bray loved children. “Is this your mom?” she asked Sonia as if she were speaking to a baby.

  Sonia frowned.

  “Sonia is not a child, my dear and I am not her mother. Indeed she is older than I. Now, allow me to show you around this God-forsaken place. We have a strict curfew. Everyone must be inside the tunnels at dusk and all signs of inhabitance must be hidden or taken into th
e tunnels each night. We are largely free to move about in the daylight hours. This is the safest time for us, as our enemies will be hindered by the sun — we hope.”

  Mari and Sonia headed for the tunnels.

  “What’s going on? Why do they talk so funny and how can the girl be older?” Bray whispered.

  Jack shrugged.

  Mari looked over her shoulder at the humans. “I must warn you, we have excellent hearing, so whispering will not do you any good.”

  That night Bray and Jack passed on the barbecued monkey. They ate some canned beans and one of the natives offered them fresh corn and cabbage from the garden — this they devoured. The newcomers watched as the camp prepared for darkness. Samuel and Aaron took down antennas and covered them with giant green palm leaves. Solar panels and farm animals were taken into the tunnels. Fire pits were cleaned out and covered with palm leaves. Bray was nervous about being locked up underground. As the sun set, camouflage was pulled over the metal doors to the tunnels and they were sealed inside until first light.

  Chapter 41 South America 2021 A.D

  The Court’s next move was intelligence gathering. Pairs of vampires were sent out on day missions to find out where humans were being held and to discover how well they were guarded.

  “We free them, then what?” Riddick asked.

  “It’s not our job to sustain the entire population. Humans will have to learn to survive in this new world until we can find and kill Elda,” Elijah answered.

  “Humans still greatly outnumber vampires. So her supporters are spread thin across the world. Every one of her vampires we take out significantly weakens her forces. That’s how we’ll win this war. Little by little,” Samuel said.